Choose a timely and global topic, but allow your students choice within the larger topic
For example: You may choose the topic of animals and your students may choose the particular animal they want to study. This works for topics such as Native Americans, World War II, Countries of the World, and many others!
Determine ahead of time what you expect from your students
For example: You may want a written part, a visual, and an oral presentation. What do you expect from each section? Is this to be a group or individual project? Can the written part be creative, like a story or skit, or do you expect a formal research paper?
Create a checklist for students to follow
Make sure you include every aspect that will be assessed for the project! Include the directions for the project at the top of the page.
You can make the checklist as specific and detailed as you feel your students need. Some students need a lot more structure than others!
Sometimes I even include due dates for each section.
Make sure you teach your students how to take notes from a source
We always teach our students using a Ranger Rick Big Book. These are easy to read and take notes in just one class period. Teach your students how to locate the main idea and how to pick out the most important details of each paragraph. Also make sure to show them how to organize their notes so that they are easy to understand.
If you plan to assign a formal research paper as part of the project, be sure to teach your students how to write a formal essay
When it is time for my students to write their essay, I go through it with them step by step. First they learn how to write an introduction in class. That night they have to write one for their project. The next day I read and help students revise the introduction. We do the same thing with the body and conclusion. It really helps many students to go through the process one step at a time, especially if this is their first formal paper.
When allowing students class time to work on their project, make sure you monitor constantly
This is not the time to sit behind your desk. Monitoring is not difficult as long as you are prepared. Create a spreadsheet on the computer with your student names down one side and behavior/task expectations across the top. Put this on a clipboard and use it while you are walking around to keep track of students who are both on and off task as well as students who are misbehaving. This will make it much easier to reward those students who are consistently doing well and to re-direct those who are not on task!
No matter what time of the year it is, projects are a great tool to use in the classroom. Students are motivated and stay interested in topics for longer periods of time. They get excited about sharing what they have discovered with the rest of the class, and they enjoy the freedom that comes with this type of an assignment. With a few practical tips given by veteran teachers, you too can enjoy the thrill a project brings to the classroom!
Example Project:
Native American Project
This six weeks we have been studying about Native Americans in Texas. As a group you are going to research information about one particular tribe and present it to the class. Your project will include a written paper, visual aid, and oral presentation. It is DUE May 21st and presentations will be held May 24-27.
PROJECT CHECKLIST
_____ Choose topic - get teacher approval
_____ Research information from 3 sources (title, author, pages)
source 1: _________________________
source 2: _________________________
source 3: _________________________
_____ Create written assignment - small book, formal essay, or script for skit.
_____ Create visual - must be creative, colorful and neat
